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Nature & wild coast

Devil’s Bridge

Atlantic power carved into limestone

At Indian Town Point, the far eastern tip of Antigua, the Atlantic has spent several thousand years working on a shelf of limestone. The result is Devil’s Bridge: a natural arch spanning a gap in the rock, surrounded by a pockmarked platform of blowholes that fire spray upwards whenever a big set comes through.

It is a national park, it is free, and it takes about twenty minutes to see — but it is the most elemental piece of coast on the island. Nothing is fenced. The rock is sharp, often wet, and the sea below is not survivable, so the golden rule is to stay well back from the edge and watch where the spray is landing.

Top things to do at Devil’s Bridge

  1. Watch the blowholes

    The platform around the arch is riddled with holes worn through by the sea. On a decent swell they spout several metres. Stand upwind and give them room — the spray marks how far the water reaches.

  2. Photograph the arch

    Morning light comes from behind the arch and afternoon light across it. Either works; the afternoon is generally better for the texture of the rock.

  3. Walk the headland

    Paths run north and south along the clifftop through low, wind-shaped scrub, with the ruined stumps of old windmills inland. Fifteen minutes in either direction gets you away from the car park entirely.

  4. Pair it with the east coast

    Betty’s Hope, Long Bay and Half Moon Bay are all within twenty minutes, which makes a straightforward and genuinely varied half-day loop.

How to get to Devil’s Bridge

  • By car: about 40 minutes from St John’s via Pares and Willikies, following signs for Indian Town Point. The last kilometre is rough but passable in a normal car.
  • By tour: most full island tours stop here, and the east-coast private tours give you longer than the standard ten-minute photo halt.

Insider tips

  • Wear shoes with grip. The limestone is sharp, uneven and slippery where the spray lands.
  • There is no shade, no water and no railing. Go early, and keep children within arm’s reach.
  • The bigger the swell, the better the blowholes — which is also when the edge is most dangerous. Watch from the high ground.

Best tours & tickets for Devil’s Bridge

These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to enjoy Devil’s Bridge and the coast around it:

The view from Shirley Heights over English Harbour, Antigua Private tour from $138
🕒 Approx. 4 hours 📍 Anywhere on Antigua (pickup included) ⭐ 4.7 (41)

Antigua: Private Island Tour

Rated 4.7 across 40+ reviews, this is the flexible option: a private driver-guide, your own vehicle and a route you help set. Want three hours at Half Moon Bay and a quick look at the dockyard? Fine. Want every historic site on the south coast and no beach at all? Also fine. Private tours are the right call for groups with different interests, travellers who need an unhurried pace, and cruise passengers who would rather not be tied to a coach timetable.

  • Your own guide and vehicle — the itinerary bends around you
  • Nelson’s Dockyard, Shirley Heights, Devil’s Bridge or the west coast
  • Stop as long as you like at any beach or viewpoint
Shallow turquoise water over a sandbar off Antigua’s north-east coast Half-day excursion from $149
🕒 Approx. 4 hours 📍 St John’s cruise port or your hotel ⭐ 4.8 (257)

Antigua: Stingray City, Long Bay Beach & Rum Punch

Antigua’s single most-booked experience, and with 250+ reviews at 4.8 stars it earns the ranking. A short boat ride from the north-east coast drops you on an offshore sandbar where southern stingrays glide around your legs in about 1.4 m of clear water — no cages, no nets, just trained guides showing you how to move so the rays stay relaxed. The drive out doubles as an island tour, and there is time to snorkel and swim before a beach stop at Long Bay. Cruise passengers are picked up at Heritage Quay and returned in good time for the ship.

  • Wade in waist-deep water with wild southern stingrays on a natural sandbar
  • Guided island drive past Parliament, the old sugar factory and the cricket stadium
  • Beach time at Long Bay, one of Antigua’s calmest swimming beaches
A small green island offshore from Antigua’s coast Half-day wildlife & beach trip from $148
🕒 Approx. 3.5 hours 📍 St John’s cruise port or your hotel ⭐ 4.7 (51)

Antigua: Laviscount Island Giant Tortoises & Long Bay Beach

Laviscount Island is a small private island off Antigua’s eastern shore, home to a colony of Aldabra giant tortoises that will happily amble over to inspect you. It is an unusual, low-key stop that children love and that adults are surprised by, and it pairs neatly with Long Bay — a reef-sheltered beach where the water is shallow, warm and almost always flat. A good half-day when you want wildlife without a full-on boat expedition.

  • Meet the giant tortoises on private Laviscount Island
  • Short boat crossing through calm north-east coast water
  • Swimming and snorkelling time at Long Bay

Devil’s Bridge FAQs

Is Devil’s Bridge worth visiting?

Yes, if you like raw coastline. It takes twenty minutes and costs nothing, and it is completely unlike the calm west-coast beaches most visitors see. Combine it with Long Bay or Half Moon Bay to make the drive worthwhile.

Is it safe to walk on Devil’s Bridge?

People do, and people have been swept off. The arch is undercut, the rock is slick with spray and there is no rescue from the water below. Look at it from the platform rather than standing on it.

Is there an entrance fee for Devil’s Bridge?

No. It is a national park with free access and a small car park. Occasionally there is an informal parking attendant; a small tip is customary but not compulsory.

Nearby places

The crescent-shaped sand and turquoise water of Half Moon Bay, Antigua Beaches & bays

Half Moon Bay

A national park in the shape of a crescent

A perfect 1 km arc of sand on the wild south-east coast, protected as a national park and backed by nothing but scrub and sea grape. The reef-sheltered northern end is calm enough to swim; the southern end takes Atlantic swell and is a favourite of bodyboarders.

Restored stone sugar windmill at the Betty’s Hope plantation, Antigua Heritage & history

Betty’s Hope

Where Antigua’s sugar story starts

The island’s first large sugar estate, founded in the 1650s and worked for three centuries by enslaved Africans and their descendants. One of its twin windmills has been restored to working order, and the small visitor centre tells the plantation story without flinching from it.

A small uninhabited green island in Antigua’s North Sound Nature & wild coast

Great Bird Island

An uninhabited islet in the North Sound

A small, empty island 15 minutes off the north-east coast, with a beach on one side, low cliffs full of nesting red-billed tropicbirds on the other, and shallow reef in between. It is also the last refuge of the Antiguan racer, once the rarest snake on earth.

Plan your island days

Make Antigua and Barbuda the trip you never stop talking about

A beach for every day of the year, a UNESCO-listed Georgian dockyard, warm water in every month and a sunset party that has run for four decades. Compare tours, tickets and cruises and book in a couple of taps.